Straight/Curl/Wave Shrinkage

[GrowlingCupcake]

Mods: I couldn't decide if this belonged in The "Mane" Forum or the Hair Polls & Projects so please feel free to move if necessary.

I always assumed I didn't get much wave shrinkage because I am a 2a, and frequently feel like I am barely a two. Yesterday, I decided to find out.

Note: Yesterday's hair is second day wash hair. First day, my hair was loose, and loose to sleep in. Second day, I combed my hair, and stuck it in a bun. At times, it had also been gathered into a claw clip.

I swished my hair out, and fiddled to try to get it to lie as flat as possible without affecting any waves. According to my partner, my hair was mostly straight (probably 1b/1c) till about my shoulders, then started waving. At the very ends, my waves were pretty spiraly (I checked later, and I did in fact have spirals).

My stretched/straight hair is ~BCL (35 inches for most of my hair, 36 inches for the very ends). My second day hair was at most at my waist, maybe waist+inch in some areas.

That's a 5 to 6 inch shrinkage for me, with second day wash hair, 2a texture.

What kind of shrinkage do you get? Does it vary based on how close to wash day it was? Does it vary based on the style you had your hair in?

Note: I've included straight hair since 1b/1c might have shrinkage, and I am also curious about 1a shrinkage with various styles (buns, braids, etc.).

Please tell us your hair type/texture, how long it has been since wash day, what styles you have had it in, and the inch/cm/mm/body marker difference. Feel free to include any other information you consider relevant.

[lapushka]

I don't know how much shrinkage I get. It's FTL and I only measure it stretched; the rest I don't measure. I seem to recall a similar thread that was started on shrinkage a short while ago.

[AmaryllisRed]

Oh my goodness, I get SO much shrinkage and my hair is NOT curly. I have rare spirals but mostly s waves. I try not to measure very often, but if I stretch out a strand, honestly, it stretches like 3". I don't know why my hair stretches so much.

[blackgothicdoll]

My hair is perhaps two inches below my ears in its shrunken state. It is two inches past my collarbone stretched. :)

4a. Those are eyeball measurements comparing right after washing to if I were to straighten my hair, or simply pluck a curl and extend it with my fingers. Second and third day hair will float slightly above my shoulders, and that's from being in braids. Eventually it'll sit on my shoulders and a little past, but it's stretched that much it's usually time to wash. :p

[MusicalSpoons]

1b/1c here. I used to have about an inch or two of shrinkage just because my hair is naturally floaty :laugh: now I double-condition and use ROO which weighs my hair down a bit so it's less floaty, but has also given me a bit more texture. So I still get a good inch and a half, maybe 2 of shrinkage due to texture, bun kinks, flippy ends, whatever. This picture from a few months ago is a good example (it had been combed just before the pic, and quite oily at the scalp):

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4859/45296642195_fdbf88e943.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2c1H8Bz)Full length (https://flic.kr/p/2c1H8Bz)

Despite being a 1 I still have to repeatedly comb or brush it out if I want it as straight as possible for whatever rare reason :)

[littlestarface]

I don't stretch my hair ever so I don't know hmmm. The only time my hair gets stretched is when i'm taking a shower and its all wet but even then i'm scrunching the majority of the time in there.

[Cg]

Easy question for me. No shrinkage. Ever.

[leayellena]

1b/1c here. I used to have about an inch or two of shrinkage just because my hair is naturally floaty :laugh: now I double-condition and use ROO which weighs my hair down a bit so it's less floaty, but has also given me a bit more texture. So I still get a good inch and a half, maybe 2 of shrinkage due to texture, bun kinks, flippy ends, whatever. This picture from a few months ago is a good example (it had been combed just before the pic, and quite oily at the scalp):

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4859/45296642195_fdbf88e943.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2c1H8Bz)Full length (https://flic.kr/p/2c1H8Bz)

Despite being a 1 I still have to repeatedly comb or brush it out if I want it as straight as possible for whatever rare reason :)

my hair looks exactly like yours. exactly. only the hair color is of course different. I am fairily sure I typed my hair correctly as 1c. but my hair is exactly as u described: oily; and quite flat on the scalp with no curl or bent till apl. at apl my hair starts to be like yours: bit of "waves" out there :) probably I should claim 1b/1c?

[AutobotsAttack]

Please tell us your hair type/texture, Extremely fine, pretty much weightless, Chemically treated, Afro-Textured, 4a
how long it has been since wash day, 1 day
what styles you have had it in, Bantu knots
and the inch/cm/mm/body marker difference. Completely stretched, passed TBL, 4-5 inches from Classic. If not stretched, and I let my length start to curl up it can shrink back to BSL or a bit below BSL

I don’t particular care anymore. I know my hair is still there.

[MoonChildCurls]

Sometime's my hair dries as 3a/3b and sometimes it's 2c, so it varies. I do lose quite a bit of length though.

[lapushka]

Yeah, it is FTL stretched but on wash day when it has dried it is between TBL & classic, thereabouts. It shrinks up a tad.

[MusicalSpoons]

my hair looks exactly like yours. exactly. only the hair color is of course different. I am fairily sure I typed my hair correctly as 1c. but my hair is exactly as u described: oily; and quite flat on the scalp with no curl or bent till apl. at apl my hair starts to be like yours: bit of "waves" out there :) probably I should claim 1b/1c?

That picture wasn't a hairtyping pic; it was after half a week in buns - if it dried like that naturally I would certainly call it 1c :)